I am so stinkin proud of myself right now, I can barely contain my excitement. For the first time in my life (at least that I can remember), I took a step back from my "in the moment" craving, and made the rational decision to not give in. This might not seem to be monumental, theoretically, but for me it is huge. Usually when I have a craving, there is a very minimal inner battle, and evil always triumphs. I will talk myself into giving in, convincing myself that, "I don't have time to make a healthier option," "it's okay, I'm stressed, I don't eat like this all the time," or the ever-popular, "I'll just start over tomorrow." Not today. Today, I took a step back, and rationalized.
I wanted spaghetti for lunch, and I found 1,001 reasons why it would be okay to have it. And to be honest, I knew I wouldn't stop at one portion. I'm Italian. Measuring spaghetti is not something that is common to me. At least not in the traditional sense of eating 1 cup of spaghetti. Usually, the serving size is a "plate-ful." Knowing that this would end up being the case again, I asked myself why I wanted spaghetti. Well, I needed energy, so the carbs would help with that. I have leftover meat sauce in the fridge. Tonight's dinner is homemade pizza, so I will get to have that later anyway. It is my go-to comfort food. And then I paused. What exactly do I need comfort food for today?? There is absolutely nothing stressful going on. It is a beautiful day. My one-year-old is in a great mood (a rarity these days- thanks teeth!), the house is clean. So why do I feel a need to eat to satisfy some sort of void? And why in the world did I ever consider that okay to begin with?
So the answers that I came up with to all of these questions: ENOUGH. Food does not define me. Food does not control me. It exists to fuel my body, and that is all. Just because it is in the fridge, pantry, vending machine, wherever it happens to be, does not mean I have to eat it. It has taken 28 years to come to this realization, and I must say, it feels absolutely amazing!! Food: 0, Denise-1!
I wanted spaghetti for lunch, and I found 1,001 reasons why it would be okay to have it. And to be honest, I knew I wouldn't stop at one portion. I'm Italian. Measuring spaghetti is not something that is common to me. At least not in the traditional sense of eating 1 cup of spaghetti. Usually, the serving size is a "plate-ful." Knowing that this would end up being the case again, I asked myself why I wanted spaghetti. Well, I needed energy, so the carbs would help with that. I have leftover meat sauce in the fridge. Tonight's dinner is homemade pizza, so I will get to have that later anyway. It is my go-to comfort food. And then I paused. What exactly do I need comfort food for today?? There is absolutely nothing stressful going on. It is a beautiful day. My one-year-old is in a great mood (a rarity these days- thanks teeth!), the house is clean. So why do I feel a need to eat to satisfy some sort of void? And why in the world did I ever consider that okay to begin with?
So the answers that I came up with to all of these questions: ENOUGH. Food does not define me. Food does not control me. It exists to fuel my body, and that is all. Just because it is in the fridge, pantry, vending machine, wherever it happens to be, does not mean I have to eat it. It has taken 28 years to come to this realization, and I must say, it feels absolutely amazing!! Food: 0, Denise-1!
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